Rail-anchor.



T. H. ALFfiEDS.

RAIL ANCHOR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-1% 1914- 1,209,653. Patented Dec. 26,1916.

z I fi l/L1,

M 9 i I! 0 ll Z /6 an Gran TORBIS H. ALFREDS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAIL-ANCHOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

Application filed January 19, 1914. Serial No. 812,883.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, TORBIS H. ALrRnDs, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Anchors; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to rail anchors and consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The object of the invention is to provide an eflicient device, adapted to be easily attached to a rail adjacent a tie and is so attached to the rail that, should the rail have a tendency to creep, the device will automatically increase its attachment or grip upon the base of the rail and thereby prevent the creeping or longitudinal movement thereof relative to said tie.

Further objects and advantages will appear as I proceed with my specification.

In the drawings :F igure 1 is a view in side elevation of my improved rail anchor as applied to a railroad rail adjacent an as sociated tie. Fig.2 is a transverse sectional view of the same, the plane of the section being indicatedby the line 2-2 of Fig 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the same with the rail base in position thereon indicated by dotted lines. Fig. t is a bottom plan view of the anchor plate.

Referring more particularly to that embodiment of my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, 5 indicates a rail having the usual laterally extending flanges forming the base 6.

7 indicates thetie upon which the rail rests in a manner well known. It will be here understood that the direction of travel upon said rail is in the direction indicated by the arrows shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

The rail anchor, as a whole, consists of an angular shaped bracket plate 8. The said plate comprises a rail base'engaging member 9 and a tie-abutting member 1() arranged at a right angle thereto, which, when the device is in position upon the track, engages the bottom of the rail base 6 and the vertical edge of the tie 7 respectively. Equally spaced on opposite sides of the median line of the plate are located webs or flanges 11, 11, said webs extending from the outer edge of the rail base engaging member 9 to the lower edge of the tie-abutting member 10 in a manner adding strength and rigidity to said plate as a whole. The mem ber 10 is cut away where the metal is not needed, as indicated at 10 in Fig. 2, for the sake of lightening the plate as a whole. The rail base engaging member 9 is of a width great enough to extend laterally beyond the edges of said rail base and the upper surface of said member which contacts against the bottom of said rail base, is provided with a plurality of contact surfaces 12, preferably formed by corrugating the said upper surface. Said plurality of contact surfaces provide a better gripping action on the bottom of the rail base than would one plane surface, and will at the same time permit the exit of any foreign matter such as moisture, dirt or sand from between the upper surface of said member 9 and the rail base. This construction prevents the formation of rust as well as preventing a grinding action of the sand or dirt which may lodge therebetween.

In each lateral margin of the rail-engaging member 9 are provided slots 13, 13. Said slots are inclined inwardly toward each other at a suitable angle and toward the tieabutting shoulder 10, and when the said plate is attached to 'a rail, a part of the lat eral inner edges or walls of said slots are covered by the lateral edges of the rail base 6. The angle of said slots relative tothe as sociated edges of the rail base approximates the angle of friction. In said slots are located rolling, gripping members 14:, 14. The said rolling, gripping members are a trifle smaller in diameter than the width of said slots, and when in gripping position with respect to the rail base, contact at approXimately diametrically opposite points, with the outer lateral sidewalls of the slots 13 and with the lateral edges of said rail base respectively. The said rolling gripping members are preferably in the form of vertically arranged bolts, the upper ends of which are provided with heads 14, 14, a portion of the lateral edges of which are adapted to bear-upon the upper lateral edges of the rail base for a purpose which will presently appear. A part of the outer lateral walls of said slots 13 extends upwardly and blends into the inner lateral wall of a longitudinally extending shoulder or rib 15, formed integral with the plate on the upper surface of the member 9. Said ribs extend parallel with the slots 13, throughout a portion of their length and are of a suflicieut height to prevent shearing action on the bolt or rolling, gripping member 14:, in the plane of the upper surface of the member 9, without interfering with the intended action of said gripping members.

The lower ends of each bolt 16 project beyond the bottom surface of the member 9 and are oppositely threaded, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the bolt on the left hand side of Fig. 2, having a left hand thread, the other bolt having a right hand thread. Each bolt 14 is threaded into an associated nut 143, 14t Said nuts are non-rotatively held upon said bolts 14 by means of cross sectional L-shaped flanges 1.6 formed integral with said mem bers 9 on the under surface thereof, said flanges 16 being parallel with but spaced inwardly from the slots 13. Said flanges comprise vertical portions 16 16, against the outer surface of which the nuts ll have sliding contact, yet held against rotation while the horizontal parts 16", 16 of said flanges project over a portion of the said nut to assist in holding the same in position when applying the device as a whole to the rail. Said L-shaped flanges extend from the outer ends of the rail engaging members 9 to the tie abutting member 10 and also serve to add rigidly to the plate as a whole and assist the webs 11 in preventing buckling of the plate under the action of resisting the tendency of the rail to creep.

The operation of the device is as follows: When the device is in place upon the rail with the plurality of contact surfaces 12 on the upper surface of the member 9 in contact with the bottom of the rail base and the member 10 abutting against the tie, with the bolts 14:, 14 in contact with the lateral margins of the rail and in contact with the outer wall of the slots and the inner edge of the shoulder 15, such position being shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and should the rail, under these conditions, tend to creep, its engagement with the rolling gripping members would cause the same to roll toward the inner ends of the slots and roll and rotate said gripping members or bolts in opposite directions, such directions being indicated by arrows therein in Fig. 3. As before stated, the rail base covers parts of said slots thus restricting the same and reducing the diameter of the slot so covered. Thus any movement of the rail will cause the rolling gripping members to roll farther into the restricted part of the slot and tightly grip the lateral edges of the rail, and by reason of the angle of said slots, said rolling gripping members will be unable to back up in said slots. The rolling action of each member will rotate the same so as to cause each bolt to move farther into its associated non-rotatively held nut, thus causing the head of the said bolt to pinch or squeeze that portion of the lateral upper edge of the rail base against which they engage and tend to draw the rail engaging member 9 with its plurality of contact surfaces 12 tighter against said rail base. The nuts 14: 14 although non-rotatively held, are capable of movement along the L-shaped flanges, so as to accommodate the rolling movement of the bolt to which they are attached. lVhen the said rail starts to creep, not only will the rolling, gripping members increase their grip upon the rail, but said anchor as a whole will tend to move farther against the tie, which will cause compression of the fibers of said tie. This compressing action on the tie will accommodate for the movement of the rail in a direction opposite to the general trafiie thereupon without affecting the gripping action between the rail base engaging member and said rail base, and should any such backup movement of the rail occur said movement will be taken up between the tie and anchor as a whole and not between the rollin gripping means on the rail engaging mem er and the rail. When traffic upon said rail is again in its proper direction, the device as a whole once more moves against the tie and the gripping of the anchor is again intensified.

The construction of the anchor plate allows of its being attached to rails of dif ferent sizes and allows for the contracbase and a rolling gripping action on the lateral edges of said rail base, said means being capable of bodily movement toward said tie abutting member.

2. A device of the kind described, comprising a tie abutting member and a rail base engaging member, said rail base engaging member being provided with oppositely inclined slots, rolling gripping members vertically arranged in said slots and adapted to engage the lateral edges of said rail, means carried by said rolling gripping members engaging the lateral upper edges of said rail base, said means serving to draw the rail base engaging member in closer contact with said rail when said rolling gripping members are actuate.

3. A device of the kind described comprising a tie abutting and a rail base engaging member provided with inwardly inclined slots, rolling gripping members interposed in said slots between the lateral edges of the rail base and one wall of said slots, and means provided on the upper surface of said plate for preventing shearing of said rolling bearing member.

l. A device of the kind described comprising a tie abutting and a rail base engaging member, provided with inwardly inclined slots, rolling gripping members interposed in said slots between the lateral edges of the rail base and one wall of said slots, and means provided on the upper surface of said plate for preventing shearing of said rolling bearing member, said means comprising a shoulder extending parallel with said slot and one wall of said shoulder being in the same vertical plane as that of one wall of said slot.

5. A rail anchor comprising a rail engaging member, means carried by said member providing a rolling gripping action on said rail, a tie abutting member made integral with said rail base engaging member and extending at a right angle thereto, said rail engaging member being provided with a plurality of contact surfaces, said contact surfaces being formed by corrugating the upper surface of said rail engaging member.

6. A rail anchor comprising a rail engaging member, means carried by said member providing a rolling gripping action on said rail, a tie abutting member made integral with said rail base engaging member and extending at a rightangle thereto, said rail engaging member being provided with a plurality of contact surfaces, said contact surfaces being formed by corrugating the upper surface of said rail engaging member, said corrugation extending parallel with said rail.

7. A rail anchor comprising a tie abutting member and a rail base engaging member arranged at an angle thereto and made integral therewith, means actuated by the creep ing tendency of the rail for resisting said creeping tendency, supported by said rail base engaging member, and plurality of contact surfaces formed on said. rail base engaging member.

8. A device of the kind described having a tie abutting member and a rail base engaging member, said rail base engaging member being provided with oppositely inclined slots, rolling gripping means interposed in said slots and adapted to engage the lateral edges of the rail, said rolling gripping means preventing movement of said rail relative to said rail base engaging member.

9. A rail anchor comprising a tie abutting member and a rail base engaging member arranged at an angle thereto adapted for engagement with the bottom of a rail, means carried by said rail base engaging member providing a rolling pinching action on the top face of said rail base, said means being capable of a bodily movement toward said tie abutting member.

10. A device of the kind described having a tie abutting member and a rail base engaging member and oppositely rotating gripping means having a rolling movement in approximately parallel planes interposed between the rail and said rail engaging member.

11. A rail anchor comprising a tie abutting member and a rail base engaging member arranged integral therewith, means actuated by the creeping tendency of the rail for resisting said creeping tendency and a plurality of contact-surfaces formed on said rail base engaging member which are adapted for engagement with the bottom surface of the rail base, said contact surfaces extending in a direction parallel with the rail.

12. A rail anchor comprising a tie abuttlng member and a rail base engaging member, said rail base engaging member having a slot at one end, and a rail base engaging member at the other end and a device in said slot actuated by the creeping tendency of said rail to resist said creeping tendency.

18. A rail anchor comprising a tie abutting member and a rail base engaging member having an inclined slot at one end, means on the other end of said rail base engaging member adapted for engagement with one edge of the rail base, and a device in said slot adapted for engagement with the other edge of said rail base and actuated by the creeping tendency of said rail for resisting said creeping tendency, the angle of said slot relative to the rail, approximating the angle of friction.

14:. A rail anchor comprising a tie abutting member, and a rail base engaging member having an inclined slot at one end, means carried by the other end of said rail engaging member adapted for engagement with one edge of the rail base, and a device adapted for movement within said slot and having a frictional engagement with the other edge of said rail base, whereby any creeping movement of the rail will be resisted by said device, the angle of said slot relative to the rail approximating the angle of friction.

15. A rail anchor comprising a tie abutting member and a rail base engaging member having an inclined slot at one end, means carried by the other end of said rail base engaging member adapted for engagement With One edge of the rail base, and a device rotatable about a traveling axis in said slot actuated by the creeping tendency of the rail to resist such creeping tendency of the rail.

16. A rail anchor comprising a tie abutting member and a rail base engaging member arranged at an angle thereto and made integral therewith, means actuated by the creeping tendency of the rail for resisting said creeping tendency, supported by said rail base engaging member, and a plurality of contact surfaces formed on said rail base engaging member, said contact surfaces being adapted to engage with the bottom 15 surface of the rail base.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in the presence of tWo Witnesses, this 14th day of January, A. D. 1914.

TORRI'S H. ALFREDS.

Witnesses:

GEORGE R. WILKINS, 'ARNOLD A. WEIGEL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington. D. G. 

